Diet soda!

hey guys, im kinda a diet soda junkie, so i wanted to see what kind of effect it has on me and my diet. so this morning as soon as i woke up i checked my blood sugar and it was 64 mg/dl. drank a diet Mt dew and check it again 20 minutes after the first check and it was 75 mg/dl. i did my morning cardio (45 minute fast paced walk) then checked it after that. it was 84 mg/dl.

kinda hoping the knowledge gods could shed some light on this info.

from what i got the diet soda is raising my blood sugar and therefor i wil get an increase in insulin production.

From what I understand, the biggest risk is throwing off your body's pH.

Metabolic acidosis can do a hell of a lot to throw off normal functioning.

so your saying that the diet soda is throwing of my pH balance. and that is the reason for a higher blood sugar.
sorry im kinda slow.
also what about later in the day when i have more water & food and what have you, will i not have such a drastic change in pH as opposed to my fasted intake of diet soda?

hey guys, im kinda a diet soda junkie, so i wanted to see what kind of effect it has on me and my diet. so this morning as soon as i woke up i checked my blood sugar and it was 64 mg/dl. drank a diet Mt dew and check it again 20 minutes after the first check and it was 75 mg/dl. i did my morning cardio (45 minute fast paced walk) then checked it after that. it was 84 mg/dl.

kinda hoping the knowledge gods could shed some light on this info.

from what i got the diet soda is raising my blood sugar and therefor i wil get an increase in insulin production.

i am going to test the same way tomorrow except only drink water.

all comments/questions/suggestions welcome. please discuss.

64mg/dl is low for a fasting blood sugar level in the A.M. Are you diabetic to begin with?

The diet soda has nothing to do with you blood sugar levels. The levels that you posted are very consistent with what i'm about to explain. This is all just the result of your bodies compensatory mechanisms of maintaining blood sugar levels.

I'll try to describe this process in a short, informative way. When your basal blood sugar level is low your body does one of two things.

First: There are specific cells within the pancreas that produce a substance called glucagon. Glucagon acts upon the stored glycogen in your muscle as well as in the liver. It breaks it down and uses it to raise your basal blood sugar levels.(The pancreas also contains specific cells that release insulin, so essentially it as an organ controls blood sugar levels in both ways.)

Second: In response to low blood sugar level, your adrenal glands also release the potent hormone cortisol. This causes the liver to perform an action called "gluconeogenesis"(basicall y making carbohydrates from amino acids). So as a result of this process, it stablilizes your blood sugar levels. This process can be destructive to muscles however as the amino acids are taken and used for another purpose. This is the state you are in when you wake up in the morning before food ingestion.

Keep in mind that insulin is released from specific cells located in the pancreas in response to elevated blood sugar levels. Carbohydrate presence(elevated blood sugar) causes this mechanism to kick into gear.

64mg/dl is low for a fasting blood sugar level in the A.M. Are you diabetic to begin with?

The diet soda has nothing to do with you blood sugar levels. The levels that you posted are very consistent with what i'm about to explain. This is all just the result of your bodies compensatory mechanisms of maintaining blood sugar levels.

I'll try to describe this process in a short, informative way. When your basal blood sugar level is low your body does one of two things.

First: There are specific cells within the pancreas that produce a substance called glucagon. Glucagon acts upon the stored glycogen in your muscle as well as in the liver. It breaks it down and uses it to raise your basal blood sugar levels.(The pancreas also contains specific cells that release insulin, so essentially it as an organ controls blood sugar levels in both ways.)

Second: In response to low blood sugar level, your adrenal glands also release the potent hormone cortisol. This causes the liver to perform an action called "gluconeogenesis"(basicall y making carbohydrates from amino acids). So as a result of this process, it stablilizes your blood sugar levels. This process can be destructive to muscles however as the amino acids are taken and used for another purpose. This is the state you are in when you wake up in the morning before food ingestion.

I hope that helped in some way.

no, im not diabetic. i measured it with a glucose meter. so if the diet soda has nothing to do with the spike in blood sugar, im guessing my body did its part (as you explained here in the second part) to regulate blood sugar. if this is the case, why did my body wait until the morning to do this?

no, im not diabetic. i measured it with a glucose meter. so if the diet soda has nothing to do with the spike in blood sugar, im guessing my body did its part (as you explained here in the second part) to regulate blood sugar. if this is the case, why did my body wait until the morning to do this?

Your body is constantly doing it throughout the day believe it or not. The results will be varied throughout the day. While your fasting blood sugar was low in the A.M., your repeat levels were nothing short of being completely normal. In all honesty, i don't think you have anything to worry about.

Your body is constantly doing it throughout the day believe it or not. The results will be varied throughout the day. While your fasting blood sugar was low in the A.M., your repeat levels were nothing short of being completely normal. In all honesty, i don't think you have anything to worry about.

i understand that they will change a lot throughout the day, but isnt your fasting blood sugars supposed to br relatively close because of the fasting?

[QUOTE=dsade;1356305]From what I understand, the biggest risk is throwing off your body's pH.

Metabolic acidosis can do a hell of a lot to throw off normal functioning.[/QUOTE

Dsade is right on the money with the assumption. In addition, I have heard that mass consumption of diet soda sweeten w/ sucralose can have an impact- I would think that one would have to consume quite a bit for this to happen,but it is a possibility.
I thought I saw something awhile back that said aspartame can have interaction w/ insulin release, cant remember where I saw that though.

so im guessing im experiencing gluconeogenesis.
but this is not enough to mess up my cardio right?
the AM cardio thread talked about how this is not what we want to experience, but i guess its going to happen a little bit right?

so im guessing im experiencing gluconeogenesis.
but this is not enough to mess up my cardio right?
the AM cardio thread talked about how this is not what we want to experience, but i guess its going to happen a little bit right?

I'm not sure why you're so concerned with the blood sugar levels you're posting? They are completely normal. Your body will constantly be utilizing the compensatory mechanisms i've described above to maintain a stable blood sugar......especially during a fasting state.

Your body is utilizing all of your glycogen stores during a fasting state to maintain that sugar level as well as supply for energy. Once that runs out, the processes i've described above go into action. In all honestly, Everything look good bud.

I'm not sure why you're so concerned with the blood sugar levels you're posting? They are completely normal. Your body will constantly be utilizing the compensatory mechanisms i've described above to maintain a stable blood sugar......especially during a fasting state.

Your body is utilizing all of your glycogen stores during a fasting state to maintain that sugar level as well as supply for energy. Once that runs out, the processes i've described above go into action. In all honestly, Everything look good bud.

then it attacks muscle stores.. i dont mean to drag this topic on and off for miles, but im just soo curious about fasted cardio still because we did it in college and i never lost noticable muscle if anything gained it, then again i was still growing

I'm not sure why you're so concerned with the blood sugar levels you're posting? They are completely normal. Your body will constantly be utilizing the compensatory mechanisms i've described above to maintain a stable blood sugar......especially during a fasting state.

Your body is utilizing all of your glycogen stores during a fasting state to maintain that sugar level as well as supply for energy. Once that runs out, the processes i've described above go into action. In all honestly, Everything look good bud.

im not to concerned im just trying to learn a little. so if im going into gluconeogenesis does this mean my morning cardio is too long?

then it attacks muscle stores.. i dont mean to drag this topic on and off for miles, but im just soo curious about fasted cardio still because we did it in college and i never lost noticable muscle if anything gained it, then again i was still growing

THere has been some research which indicates that artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharine, and sucralose CAN affect blood sugar/insulin levels because the body reacts to the sweetness perceived as a blood sugar elevator.

Sounds sorta like its like a placebo response of sorts, where the body (on some level) "assumes" that such a sweet item consumed is actually sugar, and reacts accordingly (even if it is a zero calorie sweetener, or whatever).

I don't know to what extent this is a fact, but perhaps it makes some sense...

i had no fat on me at the time in college although i was 18-22 and still growing

put on 20lbs frosh year and then lost 2 and held that for following 3 years while slowly maturing all while doing fasted cardio/strength work everymorning and 2 workouts on most days of intense duration

meals at the time were 3 huge ones with snacks like coldcut sandwhiches and peanute butter and jellys, didnt have much access to other stuff

and of course in the real world waking up 30min-1hour earlier then normal and doing cardio and super easy intensity sounds almost like a waste of time, but it doesnt seem to be proven to be that great at burning fat otherwise wouldnt everyone be craving about it?

THere has been some research which indicates that artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharine, and sucralose CAN affect blood sugar/insulin levels because the body reacts to the sweetness perceived as a blood sugar elevator.

Sounds sorta like its like a placebo response of sorts, where the body (on some level) "assumes" that such a sweet item consumed is actually sugar, and reacts accordingly (even if it is a zero calorie sweetener, or whatever).

I don't know to what extent this is a fact, but perhaps it makes some sense...

I've read some of them, and in all honesty i don't believe they hold a lot of merit at this point. Even if your body did responde to these substances, it would not be anywhere near the same level as the standard glucose response. It's still being researched, and i may be wrong in the end, however in my experience i've never had or witnessed this being an issue in my nursing career.

I will say however some of the things they are discovering about these artificial sweeteners is very disturbing.

Great contribution though brother. This is turning out to be a great thread.

im not to concerned im just trying to learn a little. so if im going into gluconeogenesis does this mean my morning cardio is too long?

Not at all. Everything i've described is the normal compensatory mechanism that we all have.....or should have anyway. True diabetics are a different story. Your body is reacting just as it should.

Once your body uses its glycogen stores after a fasting state, your body taps into its adipose tissue stores for a continued energy source. Your body uses these stores for continued energy and support of all your metabolic processes.

Utilizing this method is a good way to effectively lose unwanted fat overall. It's important that you're replenishing your glycogen stores after exercising by eating/supplementing food. Providing glucose to the body will stabilize its blood sugar levels, replenish glycogen stores, and complete anabolic/metabolic processes. This also adds to saving potential muscle tissue catabolism by the compensatory mechanisms i've described above. This mechanism is inhibited because you have available circulating glucose to utilize instead of making some(Gluconeogenesis.)

I've read some of them, and in all honesty i don't believe they hold a lot of merit at this point. Even if your body did responde to these substances, it would not be anywhere near the same level as the standard glucose response. It's still being researched, and i may be wrong in the end, however in my experience i've never had or witnessed this being an issue in my nursing career.

I will say however some of the things they are discovering about these artificial sweeteners is very disturbing.

Great contribution though brother. This is turning out to be a great thread.

Thought I would share that I too was diet soda junkie. I started relying on it to combat cotton mouth when using heavy stim's for cutting purposes. That habit transitioned off the cuts and became part of my daily routine.
Moving forward, it became something that made future cuts more difficult because the association with ****ty foods- so a mental issue that just made things harder.
the other issue I found -even while being off stims- was that PH was certainly an issue. So much so that I noticed it elevating my body temperature- I just felt like general ****.
So, long story short, I dump the diet soda get my ph under control- skin condition is better, digestion is better etc. What really helped me was to use bicarbonate w/ a ton of glutamine.
I have to wonder what the hell these artifical sweetners due to the colon. The ph thing as well as body temp. issues could spell trouble as far as immune function goes. Just some stuff to consider.

Thought I would share that I too was diet soda junkie. I started relying on it to combat cotton mouth when using heavy stim's for cutting purposes. That habit transitioned off the cuts and became part of my daily routine.
Moving forward, it became something that made future cuts more difficult because the association with ****ty foods- so a mental issue that just made things harder.
the other issue I found -even while being off stims- was that PH was certainly an issue. So much so that I noticed it elevating my body temperature- I just felt like general ****.
So, long story short, I dump the diet soda get my ph under control- skin condition is better, digestion is better etc. What really helped me was to use bicarbonate w/ a ton of glutamine.I have to wonder what the hell these artifical sweetners due to the colon. The ph thing as well as body temp. issues could spell trouble as far as immune function goes. Just some stuff to consider.

It seems like every year they find more and more bad to associate them with. I remember at the time when splenda was the"miracle" artificial sweeter with no documented serious complications of long term use......well that's now far out the window.

The metabolic acidosis issue is absolutely a reality with these types things, however that mechanism of involvement is a whole different story overall(especially in diabetics.) Aspartame is by far the worst......it's evil i tell yal

It seems like every year they find more and more bad to associate them with. I remember at the time when splenda was the"miracle" artificial sweeter with no documented serious complications of long term use......well that's now far out the window.

The metabolic acidosis issue is absolutely a reality with these types things, however that mechanism of involvement is a whole different story overall(especially in diabetics.) Aspartame is by far the worst......it's evil i tell yal

Yeah, I def. agree- I remember when A. scott Connely of Met rx fame kept defending the safety of aspartame...obviously because that was the sweetner used to flavor the original white pack- the literature actually said that this stuff caused cancer in lab rats! and this was back in 1993.
Maybe you goes at RPN could look into devising something to replace all this crap...now that would be a service to our fellow human beings.
That being said, cherry coke zero is unreal........

Yeah, I def. agree- I remember when A. scott Connely of Met rx fame kept defending the safety of aspartame...obviously because that was the sweetner used to flavor the original white pack- the literature actually said that this stuff caused cancer in lab rats! and this was back in 1993.
Maybe you goes at RPN could look into devising something to replace all this crap...now that would be a service to our fellow human beings.
That being said, cherry coke zero is unreal........

Excellent, ur R&d team must be unreal........talk a bout a dream job! By the way, the gut health product that you have as well as the antioxidant product, might be the most important stuff one could take...longevity in a bottle. Great work.

Excellent, ur R&d team must be unreal........talk a bout a dream job! By the way, the gut health product that you have as well as the antioxidant product, might be the most important stuff one could take...longevity in a bottle. Great work.

Thanks buddy! Make sure to check out the Gut Health and NOxidant sticky threads in our section. Tons of good info i have compiled in there. I just put up the NOxidant one a few days ago......check out the articles i posted in there, they're very interesting.

Yeah, I def. agree- I remember when A. scott Connely of Met rx fame kept defending the safety of aspartame...obviously because that was the sweetner used to flavor the original white pack- the literature actually said that this stuff caused cancer in lab rats! and this was back in 1993.
Maybe you goes at RPN could look into devising something to replace all this crap...now that would be a service to our fellow human beings.That being said, cherry coke zero is unreal........

x-f'in'-2!!

I love Cherry Coke zero!

What about the Diet Choc. Cherry Dr. Pepper? I like that stuff too. Dr. Pepper has really picked it up the last few years with the alternate flavors.

This really is the best advice. While the ease and pleasure from drinking diet sodas often tempts me to drink them, on the few occasions that I have cut them totally out of my diet and stuck with water I felt so much better - hard to explain.

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I figured i may as well fess up myself........My name is Trauma1, and i'm a diet soda(diet coke) junkie!

I can't help it, i've been hooked for years......although i've cut down SIGNIFICATLY in recent times.

welcome welcome. haha
well, i didnt take any numbers today( i know trama's thinking thank god man, lol. no i really appreciate the replies.)
well, its kinda cool to see that the diet soda didnt really change my blood sugar any differently than water. im not diabetic, but 3 measurements after fasting i guess should be safe to say nothing significant( with 1 drink). I have been cutting them out a lot more tho.

its got bad, even my friends at work kinda joke about it. but then again they also think that i am single handedly going to make chicken an endangered species.

on another note, diet choclate dr. pepper taste like some spiked my drink with a hershy kiss and its been merinating in there until it has completely dissolved, . ughhh.

This really is the best advice. While the ease and pleasure from drinking diet sodas often tempts me to drink them, on the few occasions that I have cut them totally out of my diet and stuck with water I felt so much better - hard to explain.

I think it's very valid on 2 equally important levels:

1) The crap in these sodas simply is not going to be beneficial. Just look at the ingredients. Think of the natural law of economy of our existence, and the fact that water is what we really need. We choose between water (the simple and natural hydrating fluid our cells need) and a bunch of artificial flavors, sweeteners, and chemicals. Simply put, the water is gonna make us feel better.

2) As BB'ers, we take pride AND gauge success to a large degree on discipline. If we restrict our intake of this stuff, and live up to our goals, we are similarly going to feel better (emotionally as well as physically).

Now, all that said, I'm a proponent of the "happy medium". If I can limit myself to a few here and there, I feel fine. If I'm back to killing 6 a day, I need to check myself.

Now, all this typing has made me thirsty, so I'm gonna go have another goddam Coke Zero. Oh well.........